


Tethered

by MiriamKenneath



Category: Us (Movie 2019)
Genre: Ballet, Gen, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-27 04:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20942198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriamKenneath/pseuds/MiriamKenneath
Summary: As above, so below.





	Tethered

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lightningwaltz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightningwaltz/gifts).

She remembers sometimes, about her past.

She remembers the dankness of the underground and the scissors and the raw rabbit meat. She remembers her real parents.

She remembers all about Red – about the little girl she used to be.

The dancing helps her to forget.

They are tethered together, of course, and this is how she knows what her other does: as above, so below. When Adelaide Wilson dances, Red must dance, too – as one.

She has the best teachers in Southern California; her parents are always encouraging and proud. The tutu and the tights and the ballet shoes? They’ve been made to order.

The stage is brightly lit.

Her audience watches, enraptured. They are witness to something…_miraculous_. After it is over, they raise her up in victory.

But _they_ do not know what _she_ knows.

And what, pray tell, does she know?

As above, so below: she knows that this is not her. This good life is a lie, and if she is to hide the truth, she must never dance again.

She forgets sometimes, about her past.

She forgets the sunlight and the soft toys and the delicious food. She forgets about her real parents.

She forgets all about Adelaide Wilson – about the little girl she used to be.

The dancing helps her to remember.

She is one of the Tethered, of course, and she has learned her place well: as above, so below. When Adelaide Wilson dances, Red must dance, too – as one.

She has no true teacher; her parents do not support her. The tutu and the tights and the ballet shoes? She makes them herself.

There is no stage.

Her audience watches, enraptured. They are witness to something…_miraculous_. After it is over, they raise her up in victory.

But _they_ do not know what _she_ knows.

And what, pray tell, does she know?

As above, so below: she knows that this is her truest self. This hard life has given her purpose, and someday – someday soon – she will dance again.


End file.
